Crossroads
by Roguie
Summary: A stolen moment in time, lost in the battle of Journey's End   The Doctor and Rose had to have a reunion, regardless of the situation... so, here's my version of that, um.. meeting.  Angsty/Sappy/Explicit.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I just borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are a pain in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: This was meant to be Rose angst and fluffy lemons… it didn't turn out that way and I'm sorry. All the same, I hope you enjoy the ride - my muse certainly took me on one writing this. Definitely not appropriate for younger fans. As the story grew, so did the Rose/Doctor physical relationship. Please use caution for the explicit scenes.

Crossroads

By: Danae Bowen

The dimension cannon provided many things to many people, mostly to Torchwood. Their explorers were able to visit many different dimensions. Their scientists were provided reams of new information to study and learn from. Their inventors gathered many different types of technology to build and expand upon. Discoveries were made, secrets were kept and everyone was happy. Rose Tyler was the only Torchwood agent left unsatisfied.

Each world she landed on, she knew instinctively was not hers. Each time she waited out her thirty minutes, she added to the list - the list of everything she wanted to do when she met her own goal - going home.

The closest she'd been was meeting Donna Noble - God, had she been close that time. It was enough to bring hope back to her, light up chocolate eyes that had been dead for longer than she cared to remember. She felt no happiness, revelled in no sunsets, experienced no fear - all that made up her existence was emptiness. Her heart had slowed, her mind had dulled, laughter all but gone from her soul. She was just plain old human Rose Tyler - without him.

A wistful smile crossed her face as she penned another addition onto her list:

Make him finish the sentence.

The sentence. The one thing that's kept her going since he'd blinked out of her existence. Words she had to hear, longed to hear, needed to hear to feel alive again. So, she stuffed the list back into her backpack, adjusted the temporal transponder and leaped back to Pete's World and the Torchwood staff waiting for her. Her eyes didn't shine, her cheeks were not flushed with excitement, none of the old Rose Tyler poured through when she looked up at Pete and Mickey and shrugged. This last world proved to be just another addition to her list - she was no closer this time, but it was one more world to scratch off her list. Several thousand more to go.

She watched as Mickey turned to Pete, his eyes flashing. She watched as Pete nodded and shrugged, gesturing at her hopelessly. At least this time she'd come back in one piece - she could tell that's what her dad was thinking. A few dimensions ago she'd not been so lucky - she'd broken her jaw, busted an arm, practically rotated a leg right off her hip - she'd been a mess when she'd finally jumped back to her dimension. Still, as soon as she was able to walk, she insisted on returning to work - even if her jaw hadn't quite set right, and she had this kind of permanent ache in her hand the physicians weren't sure would ever fade. All it meant to Rose was that she was that tiny bit different on the outside - mirroring the differences on the inside, she supposed. With a limp and a stretch of her jaw, she jumped to the next world.

After all, she had a Doctor to find.

~~~~TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I just borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are a pain in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: This was meant to be Rose angst and fluffy lemons… it didn't turn out that way and I'm sorry. All the same, I hope you enjoy the ride - my muse certainly took me on one writing this. Definitely not appropriate for younger fans. As the story grew, so did the Rose/Doctor physical relationship. Please use caution for the explicit scenes.

Crossroads

By: Danae Bowen

"_It's starting."_

_Golden light filled everything she knew. The TARDIS was humming in the back of her mind, a familiar voice bringing to life the glow inside her she'd long thought gone. The light assaulting her eyes however, was the same and yet different. It wasn't the comforting glow the TARDIS filled her with but rather the life ending glow of regeneration. Building within the Doctor. Her Doctor._

_Tears poured down her face, emotions she had become so unused to flooding her body. She held him as he shook, ignoring Jack, ignoring everything as she looked into his eyes. Every moment of pain he felt mirrored in her own body, reflected in her own eyes._

"_Here we go!" _

_She barely struggled as Jack picked her up by the shoulders, pulling her far across the control room, leaving her standing next to him helplessly as the Doctor's body jerked and arched on the ground._

"_Good luck, Doctor!"_

_She couldn't control the thoughts coursing through her mind, the horror, the absolute denial that she'd just found him and now he was leaving her. God, no! Not after everything, not after all she'd done to get here! Not after the years of grief she'd endured, the moment of pure bliss she'd experienced seeing him… the pain was worse now, it was everywhere._

"_Would somebody tell me what is going on?" Donna screamed out desperately, not understanding, nobody even looking at her._

_Rose forced words to her lips, her voice shaking, tears obscuring her view. "When he's dying… his body… it repairs itself… it changes." She stumbled, her heart exploding in her chest, fresh tears drawing wet paths down her cheeks. "But you CAN'T!"_

_The Doctor pulled himself to his feet, never taking his eyes off his heartbroken Rose. His words were weak, but he forced them past his lips, past his pain. "I'm sorry, it's too late." He breathed heavily, panting, groaning. "I'm regenerating!"_

_Jack held both the women in his arms, comforting Donna through her terror, Rose through her grief as the light exploded, obscuring the Doctor from view. Rose's mind shut down as she buried her face in Jack's shoulder, her body slowing to protect herself from the agony coursing through her. It was too much, too much. Oh, Doctor!_

_Even still, she couldn't help herself as the deafening, blinding regeneration started to slow, she looked up. In moments there would be a different man standing in the place of the one she loved. He would have all the same memories, all the same experiences, all the same everything inside - but he wouldn't be the same. She'd seen it once before, when her daft old Doctor with big ears had shed his leather jacket to become this sweet and exuberant Doctor with a suit, tie and glasses. She loved them both, so deeply that she'd sacrificed years to come back… and it was too late._

_Too la… what?_

_She watched as he directed the focus of the energy out of his body, pushing it away from him, draining the light until all that was left was her Doctor, manic as always. There were no words, no sound, nothing she could come up with to voice the shock that had stunned her to silence. She stared at him instead, mouth partially open, cheeks wet, eyes horrified, never leaving the comfort of Jack's arms as she panted, waiting for something, anything to break the spell._

"_Now then, where were we?"_

_They were the first words the Doctor had said to her when he'd regenerated the last time and the first words he said to her when he'd regained his composure. He dropped to his hands and knees, blowing the remaining yellow light from the small canister that sat only a few feet from where they stood. When he got back to his feet again, he turned, ignoring both Jack and Donna as he only had eyes for Rose. His Rose. His Rose that had lost so much weight. His Rose that had become so pale. His Rose who's jaw didn't sit quite the way he remembered it, who continually rubbed her arm as if it pained her, and who, if he wasn't mistaken, had a bit of a limp in her run she'd never had before. His Rose who was so empty._

"_There now. You see? Used the regeneration energy to heal myself but soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I wouldn't want to, why would I? Look at me! So, to stop the energy from going all the way I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle. Namely, my hand. My hand there. My hand is bare. 'Member, Christmas Day? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand. What d'you think?"_

_His eyes never left her as he spoke, and kept talking. He could see the lack of light in her stare, could see the fear, the horror, the dead. He wanted to grab her, to hold her, to crush her to him. It had been so long and all he wanted was his Rose, but first, he had to convince her._

"_Y-y-you're still you?" They were the only words she could bring herself to say, the only words her mind would allow as she refused to let herself trust what her eyes were telling her. If this was some sort of cosmic joke, that would be it for her, her fragile hold on her sanity would snap and she was afraid she'd go right along with it._

"_I'm still me."_

And there it was. Relief. Joy. Happiness. Home. She wrapped her arms around the Doctor, hugging him close. She couldn't stop the grin from overtaking her face as she closed her eyes tightly, breathing in the scent of him. It was the scent of time itself, all male, spice and musk wrapped into a package that made every nerve in her body begin to tingle and stand at attention. She buried her face into his neck, breathing him in deeper, the familiarity sparking in her mind, in her heart. She'd been dead so long, but with his arms wrapped around her, with his scent enveloping her, everything inside her slowly began to come back to life.

A simple hug - that was all it took to bring back the old Rose Tyler, the nineteen year old girl that knew nothing of the world who had grown into a woman in the span of two short years. She used to laugh in the face of danger, quite literally, because she'd always had her Doctor and nothing could ever tear them apart. They had traveled from the beginning of time to the end of the Earth, been kidnapped and tortured, had two separate mechanical species attempt to cultivate them, and still she'd always laughed. Her eyes always glowed with a private knowledge of her love for the gentle alien in her arms, her heart always beat double time to match the samba that his two hearts pounded out in his chest, they moved in a rhythm that was entirely their own.

His breath whispered softly against her ear, the sensation sending shivers coursing through her.

"Welcome home, Rose Tyler."

She grinned mischievously, "That's all I get, then, welcome home?"

He lifted an eyebrow, stepping out of her arms. "Hmm, what were you expecting, then? Fireworks and champagne?" His lips twitched, softening his words, his eyes letting her know he didn't mean what he'd said.

Jack cocked his head to the side, lifting his hands slightly. "Well, hell, if all it took was fireworks and champagne, give me five minutes, Rose…."

"Shut up, Jack."

The response came in unison, neither had taken their eyes off the other as each waited for the other to fold. Stubborn, the both of them, waiting for someone to make a move, show intent, let the other know first.

"Oh, you're kiddin' me, right? How long they gonna stand there, then?" Donna rolled her eyes skyward, frowning, a hand on her hip as she stared at the couple.

Jack pulled a face and shrugged. "Indefinitely. Trust me. This one time we were being chased around by a psycho little kid in a gas mask, it was in the middle of the blitz of London in World War 2... Would you believe it was then they decided to dance with each other?" Jack grinned, making sure his voice held just a tinge of disapproval. "Bombs going off everywhere, human beings dying everywhere you look, and these two just start dancing, out of no where."

"Quit it, Jack." The Doctor scowled. "That wasn't the way it happened. Everyone lived."

"Oh, please, anyone watching would back me up."

"No one was watching."

"So I'm the only witness, means what I say goes."

Rose blinked slowly, her body relaxing for the first time since her hand had slipped from that lever so many years ago. She lifted a hand to the Doctor's face, drawing his attention back to her.

"Where do we go from here, then?"

He grinned at her lopsidedly. "Can't have your bag sitting in the middle of the control room, can we?" He picked up her backpack and turned on his heel. "First, your room, then we save the world!"

She sighed, peace filling her mind as she shook her head, grinned and followed him down the familiar hallway.

~~~TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I just borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are a pain in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: This was meant to be Rose angst and fluffy lemons… it didn't turn out that way and I'm sorry. All the same, I hope you enjoy the ride - my muse certainly took me on one writing this. Definitely not appropriate for younger fans. As the story grew, so did the Rose/Doctor physical relationship. Please use caution for the explicit scenes.

Crossroads

By: Danae Bowen

Her room hadn't changed, it was as if the TARDIS had locked the door the moment Rose had disappeared and no one had entered the entire time she'd been gone. Her bed covers were a mess, half on the bed half on the floor. Her favourite t-shirt lay strewn across an open drawer. A picture of her Mum sat on her night stand exactly where she'd left it. The room even still smelled of her, a mixture of her fragrant shampoo and light perfume. How and why the TARDIS had managed to preserve her scent for so long mystified the girl, but she shrugged, allowing the simple comfort to relax her even further.

"There now, just as you left it." The Doctor grinned from the doorway.

"Was very young back then," Rose murmured softly, looking around at the disaster she'd left in her absence.

"You were very alive then, too, Rose."

She turned to him, recognizing the look of concern on his face. "I'm fine, Doctor, honestly."

He stepped into the room, dropping her bag to the ground, allowing the door to close behind him. "Are you then, Rose? Fine?" He reached a hand out to her face, trailing a single finger along her jaw line. His memory was long and he'd done this so many times in the past, a simple touch that meant nothing between friends. "I have your face memorized, I've dreamed of you. You've never left my mind, not for a second. I can see the differences, Rose."

She turned her head away, moving his hand off her jaw. "It's nothing. Just a bad jump. I came through all right, then."

His hand followed her head, cupping her jaw now, turning her to face his knowing gaze once more. "Tell me."

Images flashed through her mind, appearing in the middle of an attack on London - directly in the middle of it. She was taken before she'd even had the chance to turn around. When they'd chained her hands over her head and pulled her up off her feet, she'd felt her shoulder pop, a half scream passing her lips as the pain sharply informed her of the direness of her situation. Questions were thrown at her; where was she from, how did she get there, what was her purpose… all in rapid succession. When her answers didn't come fast enough, they hit her - sometimes with fists, sometimes with their guns, sometimes with whatever was handy. It took them less than an hour to break her jaw; they fractured it in three places, making it impossible for her to speak, so they beat her harder. Her dislocated shoulder became the least of her worries when a large man with what looked like a baseball bat took at her arms and legs. Her weakened arm snapped with the second blow, leaving her screaming even through her mouth's fractured teeth and bones. When they cut the ropes holding her broken limb over her head, she dropped several feet to the floor, landing in a heap, one leg taking all her weight. The angle she'd landed at caused the leg to bend in ways bones were never meant to, bringing another scream to her bloody lips. Through the fog of pain, she thanked every God in every universe that the dimensional transponder was on her broken arm and she brought her good arm across her body. Before anyone could react she slapped the transponder, shooting fresh pain up her arm, sending her back to her own place and time.

None of this, however, was anything she wished to tell the Doctor.

"Oh, y'know, jeopardy friendly, me."

"Rose," his tone was warm but wary, trying to pry out of her what he now knows she won't say.

"Doctor," her tone was light, teasing him as her eyes flashed mischievously.

He sighed, shaking his head. "All right, you win. So…"

"So?"

"So. Hello."

"We've been through this already, Doctor - before the half regeneration."

"Oh, right. So."

"Back to so, are we?" She grinned, loving watching her Doctor at a loss for words.

"You haven't changed at all, Rose." He grinned and shook his head, moving forward to pull her into his arms tightly.

"No more so than you, I s'pose."

"One little half regeneration and she doesn't let it go."

"You gonna ask 'bout my jaw again?"

He lifted an eyebrow, "How about your arm, or your leg?"

"Point made."

"Rightly so."

Rose sighed and then giggled softly. The Doctor pulled back to look in her eyes, cocking his head to the side curiously. She shrugged. "I can't believe that after all this time, all the fighting to get back, all the pain, we're just standing here gob smacked, stuck on 'so'. When we've ever not been sure of each other, Doctor?"

He sighed stroking her back, letting her head rest against his chest. There they stood for what seemed like forever, in the middle of her bedroom, holding each other in silence, allowing the mere presence of the other to heal their fractured souls. Much as she did in the console room, now the Doctor breathed in her scent, allowing it to wash through his senses, bringing her presence on the TARDIS into reality.

"You're really here."

His whisper was so quiet, Rose almost thought she'd imagined it at first, but when she looked up into his eyes, her breath caught in her throat. Tears shone in those timeless orbs, something she'd never seen before and hoped never to see again. She reached up, resting a hand against his jaw. "Of course I am. Where else would I be?"

"Oh, I dunno – off running around saving Pete's World with Mickey, I s'pose. Adventuring without your old Doctor." He tried to make his tone light, but she caught the bitter undercurrent. Rather than focus on the negative, she picked up on a slip of the words.

"My Doctor, eh? At one time didn't you used to be The Doctor? Now you're My Doctor?"

He shrugged, and simply stated, "I've always been your Doctor."

Such a simple statement and with that the tides broke. Her hand slipped around his head to pull him closer, their breath mingling as she paused a single second, waiting for him to pull back. When no resistance came, she raised her lips to meet his in a gentle, heart wrenching kiss. Soft lips against soft lips, youth against timeless energy, tongue against tongue, and the moment became eternity.

When breathing became a necessity, Rose pulled back a mere inch, opening her eyes to watch blissful happiness cross the Doctor's face. His tongue darted out, sweeping gently across her lips, catching her breath as she exhaled. He moved closer then, moving to her jaw line, planting tiny kisses, and teasing swipes of his tongue over her warm flesh.

Rose had seen the Doctor in many states, from manic excitement to furious anger. She had, however, never seen a look on his face to quite match the expression she witnessed in that moment. As he lifted his face from her throat, the salty flavour of her flesh still lingering on his tongue, he appeared singularly angelic. Something akin to the TARDIS's energy burned brightly in his eyes. His features that had long been altered by grief and loss were at last at peace, the shadows finally chased away by the soul splitting grin that was cresting across his face. The walls of Jericho had at last fallen and the Doctor stood amongst the ruins, glorying in the living emotions free to course through his veins.

"So long," he whispered, moving in again, kissing her eyes, forehead, cheeks, lips.

"Saying goodbye already, then?" her eyes sparkled, her voice breathless.

"Never!" The word was almost nothing more than a sharp growl, a gasp passing through her lips as he bit down on her exposed collar bone, nipping and then licking better the damage.

Heat coursed through her body, starting with a deep blush in her cheeks before centering at her core. Her scent deepened, skin oozing pheromones as she remain motionless in his embrace, her only movements the rise and fall of her chest pressed so tightly against his.

He didn't ask her permission as he slipped the blue leather jacket off her body, allowing it to drop to the floor amongst a pile of clothing that had been left behind so long before. His fingers stroked gently over the soft fabric of the t-shirt she wore, marvelling at the thinness of the cotton material. Such a tiny scrap to be standing between his flesh and her own.

"Strangers, now, you 'n me." Rose murmured, lifting her head to nibble gently at his ear even as he contemplated the size of his hands against her tiny shoulders.

"Nah, can't be. I'd know you anywhere, Rose Tyler." he turned his face to nip at her jaw line. "Even with all the little differences."

"'Aven't changed that much. Twenty five, me. Little older. Little wiser."

"Little naughtier if your hand falls any lower, Miss Tyler."

"All the same." She grinned, bringing her hand back up to his chest, resting it over his left heart. "I'm not the daft little shop girl you once asked to come with you."

A low growl built in his chest. "You were never a daft little shop girl. You were the best." He brushed a stray lock of her hair out of her eyes, grinning down at her. "And you don't look a day over twenty-one."

She grinned, licking her lips, thinking out her next words carefully. "I know it wasn't near as long for you, Doctor… what, two years maybe?"

He shrugged, "Give or take a month or two." One year, seven months, twenty three days, six hours and forty seven minutes.

"Was near five for me. Damned universe, just that one step ahead o'the rest."

And fifteen seconds.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so sorry. I never would have left you if I had any other choice."

She shrugged, and smiled softly. "Aw, s'all right. I had Mum, 'n Pete, Tony 'n Mickey."

"Mickey." His tone flattened, fingers tightening on his shoulder. "How is ol' Mickey anyway?"

Rose sucked the side of her cheek between her teeth, contemplating her answer. She struggled to keep the grin off her face. "Oh, y'know, same ol' Mickey. Couldn't get rid of him if I tried."

The Doctor licked his lips, closing his eyes tightly. "Took good care of you, then?"

"Oh, yeah, barely left my side." She paused, reaching up to stroke his face gently. "Until he met Rachel. Sweet girl really. Bit dim, but y'know, Mickey really loves 'er."

His breath hissed out between his teeth, his features relaxing. "Really? Good on him!"

Rose leaned up to touch his forehead with her own, staring deeply into his eyes. "Oh, he tried for years, he did, don't get me wrong." The Doctor frowned again, and Rose nuzzled him softly. "But they were wasted years for him. I wasn't entirely there, y'see." She shrugged, "I left my heart in this tiny blue box, 'n when that got stolen from me, all I could think about was finding it again." She pressed her mouth to his, slipping her tongue between her lips, between his lips, drinking in the timeless flavour that was solely his. Before her consciousness melted into the heat flowing from her body, she brought her lips to his ear, whispering headily, "Thanks for keeping it safe for me, Doctor."

~~~TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I just borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are a pain in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: This was meant to be Rose angst and fluffy lemons… it didn't turn out that way and I'm sorry. All the same, I hope you enjoy the ride - my muse certainly took me on one writing this. Definitely not appropriate for younger fans. As the story grew, so did the Rose/Doctor physical relationship. Please use caution for the explicit scenes.

Crossroads

By: Danae Bowen

She couldn't stay her fingers any longer as they drifted up to loosen his tie. The Doctor grinned lopsidedly as the small scrap of cloth dropped to the floor, a symbol of the crumbling walls around his guarded life. His patience lasted as her long fingers worked free the buttons of his shirt, baring inch after inch of flesh to her very suddenly hungry gaze. The depths of her eyes darkened, pools of near black as she sucked her lower lip into her mouth, working it with her teeth as she devoured him from a distance.

"I've waited for you, Doctor," she whispered, words barely audible. "Years upon years, while I've fought my way back. Some wanted me, but I only ever wanted you."

His eyes drifted shut as she forced the shirt and jacket from his shoulders; he heard them pool at his feet, but it was the feeling of her warm fingers against his cool skin that caused him to suck in a sharp breath. She raised both hands to his collar bone, sliding them over his flesh to his shoulders, down his strong arms, across to his stomach. Another deep breath, and a shiver coursed through his body as her fingers now stroked gentle paths across his ribs, to his chest, coming to rest one hand over each heart.

"Five years, Doctor. You can't imagine, can't begin to imagine, how alone I've been without you."

Rose closed her eyes, revelling in the double beat of his hearts against the palms of her hands, breathing him in as she confessed her great loneliness, words she'd never spoken before, not even to her Mum.

"As if you're heart only beat at half strength? As if your lungs only breathed in half capacity? Everything worked just enough to keep you living, but never really alive?"

A cool finger on bared flesh at her waist, slipping up under the thin cloth that covered her torso. His hands were gentle as they lifted the t-shirt from her body, over her head, and past her raised arms.

"How hard it must have been to feel alive, to remember why you kept breathing and your heart kept beating even when you knew it wasn't really there."

The shirt fell to the ground, forgotten, but rather than drink in the vast expanse of flesh revealed to him for the first time, his eyes were drawn to her damaged arm. Scars that hadn't been there one year, seven months prior. His breath caught again, one heart missing a beat, throwing him out of rhythm as he lowered his lips to her marred skin. The wound running up the inside of her bicep was harsh and jagged and he kissed it lovingly, his lips bringing comfort to the damaged cells that only a few months earlier had been rendered open by her bones splitting out of her body.

"Did you feel alive, then, Rose? Did the pain bring you back your mind when you thought you just may be losing it?"

She groaned softly, eyes fluttering. "Didn't mean it to happen, didn't go looking for it."

"Just jeopardy friendly, right?"

"One bad jump."

"What other scars will I find, Rose? Your beautiful legs?" He dropped to his knees in front of her, nimble fingers stripping her of her boots and socks, stroking the delicate bones of her feet.

"Not so bad, them. Bones never came through, just a bit of a limp, s'all." She whispered softly, her legs trembling, threatening to give way as he raised his hands to her waistband, slipping free the catch, lowering the cool fabric.

Her legs were as long as he remembered, lean and muscular. He ran his hands carefully down her thighs, focussing on her bad leg, sensing more than seeing the damage inside.

"You're wrong, Rose, because I can understand how you've felt. Your world taken away from you, everyone you know and love just suddenly gone." He pressed his lips to her hip, lapping lightly at the bone he found there, dragging a quiet whimper from her trembling lips. "But then, in a weak moment, you let someone in, and they change everything for you." His lips moved across her stomach, tongue tasting every inch of flesh in his path, dipping into her belly button, smiling at her throaty groan. "Suddenly, your life is filled with light, and laughter, and holding hands, and exuberant hugs." He nipped lightly at her ribs, licking better the playful wounds. "Everything looks different, smells different, is different even, and now you're throwing yourself into these horribly dangerous situations not because you want it to end, but because you need it to never end." His lips reached the underside of her breasts, still obscured by her thin, black bra. He darted out his tongue, testing the bra, working up under it briefly before wrapping his arms over her bum and pulling her down to his level. "Your world turns pink and yellow, and you find yourself living for that next moment of wonder, or that next moment of terror, running for your lives and laughing about it because it'll all be all right. It'll always be all right while you're together." Gentle fingers slipped open the clasp of her bra, removing the scrap of lace, baring her chest completely to him. He faltered at that point, breathing heavily, licking his lips as he bathed in the sight of her. "Beautiful," he murmured, pausing in his speech, lowering his lips to gently suckle a budded nipple.

Rose's body arched in response, a quiet cry escaping her lips as she dug her fingers deep into the Doctor's shoulders. Fresh warmth flooded through her, pooling damply between her thighs, sensation glazing over the dark brown depths of her eyes.

"But then the day comes that you knew would eventually, and everything is empty again. Instead of laughter, what rings in your ears is your own name on her lips, screaming for you across dimensions, and you want nothing more than to tear apart galaxies to get to her, but you can't. The universe has to carry on or everything you did together would mean nothing, so you suffer." He raised a hand to her free breast, palming it gently, finding the nipple with cool fingers and tweaking it, forcing her to arch against him again. Her own movements press her breast back against his lips, and he eagerly opens his mouth, darting out his tongue, sucking her wetly before blowing cool breath against her, causing her to pebble roughly against his lips. "But she's still all around you. A shirt left in the console room. A jacket in the kitchen. A bloody sneaker in the corridor outside your bedroom. And her scent, it's everywhere, on everything, slowly driving you quite mad."

Without warning, Rose found herself on her back, the Doctor hovering over her, still dressed from the waist down. His hands stroked her body now, from breasts to stomach, to pause at her hips and the single piece of silky fabric left to maintain her modesty. There was no question in his eyes as his fingers toyed with the black scrap of lace, no hesitation as he pulled it from her body, leaving her naked on her own bedroom floor, open for his eyes to feast upon.

"What do you do when the scent never fades, I wonder? When your ship is so attuned to your needs that it locks what's left of her into an airtight room, controlling the atmosphere, controlling everything to make sure she never fades from memory, as if that were even remotely possible." His fingers trail back up her thigh, feeling her damp heat long before he reaches the sensitive folds of flesh crying out for his touch. "So, you find a new companion and take her the same places, but it's not the same. Have the same conversations, but they're not as interesting. Run from the same threats, but there's no laughter. A temporary fix that fixes nothing."

"Please," It's a soft moan, but Rose's tortured plea brings a smile to the Doctor's lips and he raises his fingers to slide through her damp curls, teasing the hard nub he finds within. Long, cool fingers against a hot, sensitive bundle of nerves and immediately her body arches, a sharp cry escapes her lips, her brain sending fractured shocks of light and heat to every nerve she possessed.

"But you've waited long enough for the return of sensation, emotion, life." His finger slides through her slick folds, teasing the entrance to her body. "She's worked hard while you were separated, feeling the need to be with you just as deeply." He slides into her, his long fingers stretching open her body, causing her to gasp, writhe and moan beneath him. Her breathing picks up pace, her chest rising and falling as she struggles to breathe in desperate lungfuls of oxygen. "And then she's back, pink and yellow in your arms, holding you and telling you she's waited for you." His fingers find a rhythm, at first long, slow strokes in and out of her body, her hips rising and falling in time, her voice lost in non-sensical lyrics of pleasure. "You're right back to knowing that everything's gonna be all right, Rose, because you're together again." His fingers pick up pace, his thumb finding her clit, stroking her roughly, watching as her body freezes, her mouth in an eternal "oh" as waves begin crashing down over her, raising her higher and higher into pleasure, her mind going blank, her ears filled with the sound of her blood rushing through her veins and her own screams as she tightens around him and explodes with all the power of a super nova.

He grins at her saucily as he brings his fingers to his lips, his long tongue licking them clean as she watches through passion dazed eyes. "Now, her scent is fresh again, filling your mind, your heart, imprinting herself on everything around you." He leans forward, his tongue lapping at her core, ripping a short scream of exhausted pleasure from her lips before rising over her and capturing her mouth against his in a long, warm kiss filled with promise and future.

When her breathing calmed, and her eyes began to find focus once again, the Doctor grinned down at her lovingly. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth rather sheepishly.

"Blimey, that's some imagination you have there, Doctor."

~~~TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; I just borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are a pain in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: This was meant to be Rose angst and fluffy lemons… it didn't turn out that way and I'm sorry. All the same, I hope you enjoy the ride - my muse certainly took me on one writing this. Definitely not appropriate for younger fans. As the story grew, so did the Rose/Doctor physical relationship. Please use caution for the explicit scenes.

Crossroads

By: Danae Bowen

Even as her body still thrummed with the pleasure he'd lavished upon her, Rose turned to face the Doctor, drinking in the smug look on his face, devouring the sight of him shirtless wrapped around her on the floor of her bedroom.

"Never lost your taste for storytelling, then?" She grinned at him, nuzzling her head under his chin, her fingers stroking lazy patterns across the strong muscles of his chest. Her tongue peeked between her teeth in a naughty tease as her path brought her fingertips to his left nipple. His left heart beat an erratic marching song under her touch, his breath hitching in his chest, his fingers digging into her shoulder as he struggled to maintain a visage of calm.

Rose stretched one naked leg languidly, rubbing her toes against his calf even as her hand strayed down his torso, long fingers playing with the waistband to his pants. She darted out her tongue, tasting the salty skin on his chest, pulling his attention away from her wandering hands while she quickly released his button. A quick nip of the teeth was all she afforded him before she was on her knees, moving down his body to begin at his feet.

As she removed his shoes one by one, she remembered the first day he had slipped them on his feet. He'd been so proud of the ridiculous trainers, showing them off to her even as she brushed the tears of laughter from her eyes. Now, neither cared less where they landed with a heavy thump, only that they, along with his socks, were far from his body.

She stretched her body upwards, straddling his legs, bringing her hands and face to rest against his stomach. She darted her tongue out again, lapping softly at his stomach, tasting inch after inch of his timeless flesh even as her nimble fingers worked the waist of his pants lower on his hips.

He couldn't stop the groan from escaping his lips as she urged his hips up and his pants down, leaving him completely bared to her gaze. To her credit, Rose kept her eyes locked on his longer than she would have expected, sparkling in answer to the dark passion she saw mirrored in his own chocolate orbs, but soon the draw of the naked Doctor beneath her was too much.

She leaned back on his legs, bum against his knees, hands drawing down his body to rest against his thighs, between her own, and then she allowed herself to drink him in. Dark hairs on his chest, smooth pale flesh of his stomach, dark curls beginning below his navel, leading her gaze down further. She closed her eyes for the briefest of moments, a blissful expression crossing her features even as her heart pounded so heavily she was sure it had moved to her throat, and then allowed herself the view that had so long been denied her.

"Oh," she whispered in wonder, words escaping her as she finally looked down upon the entire sculpted body that made up her Doctor. He was long and thick, hard and raised towards her, immediately ready to receive her attention. She licked her lips, swallowing with difficulty as she slid her hands very slowly up the inside of his thighs. She felt every muscle in his body tense as her touch came within an inch of his erection and then her hearing was filled with his sharp intake of breath and smothered groan as she wrapped her long fingers around him. Her own breath caught in her throat, held with his as she allowed herself a slow stroke of her hand up his length, revelling in the feeling of his smooth flesh gliding effortlessly through her grip. It wasn't enough, for either of them. As soon as she reached the head of his cock, she immediately slid her hand down again, ripping a staggered moan from his lips.

"Rose…." he whispered helplessly, desperately, as she continued her devastatingly slow pumping, shooting sharp knives of pleasure directly into his brain.

"Hmm?" she murmured back, leaning forward, her breath blowing lightly over his tip, causing him to jerk and groan heavier.

He shook his head, words evading him for the very first time in this regeneration. He couldn't voice the passion coursing through his veins, couldn't say the words that were screaming in his mind, all he could focus on were her fingers and, oh, Gods, yes! her lips sliding down his hard length. Small explosions went off behind his eyes as her warm mouth closed around his hardened flesh, hot and wet mixed together in blinding sensations of pure gratification. His mouth gaped open in stunned glory as she pulled moan after moan from his throat with each gentle scrape of her teeth over his sensitized skin. When her fingers dipped down, cupping his balls, nails scraping their seam ever so slightly, his entire body arched up, driving him deep into her throat. She moaned in response, sending hotter, sharper flashes into his brain as synapses threatened to collapse and his world turned battling shades of white and red. His last comprehensible thought had him reaching for her head, pulling her away from his straining erection, holding her a mere inch from his body where the wicked woman purposely blew her warm breath over his damp flesh. He arched again, crying out her name, digging his fingers into her hair and with every last bit of strength left pulled her up his body to meet his lips in a crushing, all consuming kiss of tortured desperation.

Her body was ready for him, dripping and aching for him as she shifted her hips, catching his tip between her warm folds, teasing him softly even as he moaned his pleasure into her mouth. She purposely denied him entrance, closing her eyes with the sensation of him moving roughly against her even as she shifted her hips, greedily pressing his hardness against the tortured bundle of nerves at her core. He captured her gasp with his lips, pressing his tongue into her mouth begging entrance on a second level as his hands moved to her hips, holding her steady, holding her in place.

"No more waiting," he whispered softly, leaning back and pulling her down, arching his hips upwards, easily finding the tight opening he so desperately sought.

Her mouth dropped open in a gasping cry, her fingers dug deep into the hard muscles of his chest as his hard flesh pressed into her, stretching her, filling her deeply. A groan of pure bliss rumbled through his chest, his hearts thundered under her biting nails, his body humming with sensation as he thrust upwards, burying himself as deep as possible in her hot, tight sheath.

"Rose…" he whispered through clenched teeth, threading his fingers into her hair, bringing her lips to his even as he shifted their bodies, pulling her underneath him, securing his home between her legs.

"No more waiting," she echoed, her passion filled eyes meeting his own, holding his gaze for what felt like eternity. "I love you, Doctor." She watched as shades of emotion crossed his features, the burn of lust, the heat of passion, the blush of true love, only to all be overshadowed by pure, unadulterated need. Her own body reacted to his, a tight knot building in her stomach, a fresh flood of warm liquid easing his passage through her heat.

When he began moving inside her, all thought fled from her mind. Sensation after sensation burned through her blood, heating every nerve ending in her body. She arched and cried out beneath him, welcoming him as his thrusts grew faster, a steady, pounding rhythm driving her higher and higher. Her breathing came in harsh gasps, matching his own erratic groans; her heart thumped fiercely in her chest, pounding so painfully that for a single moment all she heard was its screaming beat, and all else fell to silence.

_Thump._

When the silence broke, so did Rose and she came apart in the Doctor's arms, drowning in flames so high that stars burst behind her eyes. Her voice broke free from her chest, calling out the fulfillment of her pleasure upon a single word.

He couldn't stay together any longer; her heated walls clenched tightly around him, sucking him almost painfully into her deepest point, and when she screamed his name with all the power of love and need behind it, his own body exploded powerfully. He emptied into her all of his lust and desperation even as his lips sought out her own, burying his cries into her mouth as he sealed them in one last, loving point of contact.

For a long while the only sounds in the small room were the erratic thumping of three hearts and laboured intakes of breath into exhausted lungs. The Doctor slid his body to the ground, pulling Rose against him, nestling her head under his chin as they lay there in silence, revelling in the warming afterglow surrounding them.

Long minutes passed, the Doctor's gentle fingers tracing swirling designs on her back, drifting soft trails up her spine and down to her bum as their bodies cooled and calmed. Rose couldn't quite explain it, but she could feel the sadness creeping back from the corners of his mind, grounding his consciousness once again, rapidly bringing her own soaring heart and mind back to Earth.

"Time to save the world, then?" Rose whispered, a sad smile replacing the glowing ecstasy that had surrounded her mere moments before.

"It is that." he murmured in return. He licked his lips softly, shifting under her, each of his hearts missing a beat in turn. She raised her eyes to his, frowning slightly, a worry line appearing in her pale brow that he smoothed away with a gentle touch. She could almost see the words on his lips, begging to be released; the words that floated in the air between them, disjointed, faded, sure but so very uncertain, and Rose knew instantly what it all meant. Once again they were at a crossroads. One path lead to soft expressions of love, need, and forever. One path lead to something completely different - perhaps friendship again, but more than likely it was a path to heartbreak and loneliness. She couldn't stop the tears that suddenly filled her eyes, her heart speeding up and skipping beats suddenly as panic threatened to take over. She'd spent so long alone, lived through so much pain to get back here, only to face the same split in the path she'd stood at so many years before.

"Shh," he whispered softly, brushing away her tears with his thumb. "Do you still trust me, Rose?"

Her short laugh was almost manic, filled with trepidation, but she nodded without hesitation. "'Course."

"You're seeing what I am, feeling what I feel, right now in this moment." He paused, and flashed her an apologetic half grin, "Time Lord thing." A deep breath and his face grew serious again, "We have to fight the Dalek again, and I don't know how that's going to end because lately, even when I win, I lose. If we walk away right now, you, me, Jack 'n Donna, we can find some time, somewhere before the Dalek and we can be selfish and irresponsible." Rose swallowed with difficulty, a look of disbelief on her face. "We can, you know. We can go far enough in space and time to pretend this never happened."

"Doctor…" She shook her head quietly, shivering with the magnitude of his words.

"That's the path that leads to us, Rose. The destruction of every living creature in the universe. That's our one, sure path to a life together." His voice was bitter, his tone unconvinced.

She swallowed again, her fingers tightening against his chest, her head humming with indecision. "But that's not us, Doctor."

"No, it really isn't, is it? So, decision time again." With a sigh he pulled himself up, reaching for his shirt that had landed less than a foot away. "Running is out, so how do we fight our way out of this one?"

When he looked at her again, Rose had to fight to keep the tears inside. His face was set, his mind allocating only a small portion to her as he pondered the fate of the universe. The moment had passed, the words were gone, and the Doctor had stepped down the path to the right. The all encompassing remorse that filled her eyes, shared in part by both her and the Doctor, brought strength to her frame and she joined the Doctor in the hunt for the rest of their clothing.

If nothing else, the hollow sorrow was a familiar comfort to her bruised and battered heart. When the TARDIS lurched and the power flickered out, caught in the Dalek temporal prison, each looked at the other, their expressions matched in determination. The choice had been made. She wore a weak smile when he reached his hand out to her, but she took it without hesitation.

Together, they stepped through the door to face their destiny, and whatever future this path may bring.

~Fin.

A/N - Take what you want from this; I thought very briefly about writing in the scene at Bad Wolf Bay, but I figured, I'd leave it to you guys to choose what decision was made… after all, one single event could be enough to change the Doctor's mind before he turns away…

All in all, hope you enjoyed reading this… I loved writing it.


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